One of the very best views of the New Year we’ve seen is from Lebanese-American poet and artist, Etel Adnan. Shortly after we read it, this poem* from the great 13th century Chinese poet, Stonehouse jumped into our hands. Amidst darkness that seems so pervasive, they gave just the reminder we needed.
Read MoreWith Poetry as Balm for Dire Straits, We Are Taking Time Off (Mary Oliver, Su Tung p’o)
This week, my dearest friend will have open-heart surgery, a territory whose outcomes and demands defy prediction. So I will be taking time off from writing Improvised Life. But I will be carrying its lessons with me as I navigate waiting, hospital, ICU…
Read MoreEmerging Seeds’ Wild Dances of Joy (Hope Jahrens, Mary Oliver)
Boxlapse Films’ timelapses of seeds bursting through the soil are so wildly expressive, we found ourselves watching with a big grin on our face at the life force in action. It called to mind botanist Hope Jahren’s description of what seeds really do, and Mary Oliver on the very thing to dispel anxiety…
Read MoreThe Secret Treasure Within ‘Lab Girl’
We abandoned the autobiographical portion of Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl at page 35 to skip through to the short chapters interspersed within in it. They comprise 50 or so pages of superb writing about the secret life of plants that provide hopeful metaphors for our own very human lives. Here are some favorites.
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